Aussie reveller dives from building, misses pool

An Australian man's birthday celebrations ended tragically when his attempt to dive from a first-floor apartment balcony into a swimming pool went wrong, police said Monday.

The 32-year-old was partying with friends on the Gold Coast in Australia's east late Sunday when he tried to jump from the building into the pool, but missed and plunged head-first onto the concrete pavement.

"Police investigations would indicate that he had dived from that balcony earlier in the night and landed in the pool," Queensland Police Service Superintendent Jim Keogh told reporters.

"And it was on his second attempt that he failed to make it to the pool.

"He didn't miss it by much," he said, adding that the man died at the scene.

Keogh said the man had been with friends when the accident occurred and that police were investigating media reports that one of these had recorded the dive on a mobile phone.

Personal opinion: Apparently he is not a very smart man but i still feel sorry for him.

By: Quan hua

Cheeseburger's wonder.

Macdonald's fries and cheeseburger on the left, and homemade burger and olive oil baked potatoes on the right.

So how long do you think you can keep a Macdonald's cheeseburger?
A famous blogger of ieatishootipost.blogspot.com wrote this atricle to show the difference between Macdonald's burger and fries, and homemade burger and fries after keeping for 4 weeks. Recently, there has been increasing arguments about Macdonald's way of cooking their food. People were commenting on the net saying that their burgers can be kept for a couple of years without decomposing. The arch enemy of good olde Ronald McDonald must undoubtedly be a guy named Morgan Spurlock who made a film called Supersize Me.  In the film he ate nothing but McDonald's for one whole month.  At the end of the month, his cholesterol levels was sky high and he gained around 11kg (total 95.5kg). Supersize Me videos can be found on Youtube. So the following is their finding:









Looking from this angle, the Mcdonald's burger may seems to be perfectly alright and edible, but take a look at it from another angle:



As you can see, mould has broken through the defenses of the bun and started a colony.  From our experiment, we can see that the bun from from my homemade burger which was bought from a local bakery got mouldy by the end of the week while the one from McD's lasted at least 3 weeks before getting mouldy.  So there must be some form of preservative that helps to retard the growth of mould in the bun.  Looking through the ingredients list of the cheeseburger bun, the most likely preservative responsible for this would be calcium proprionate.  Calcium proprionate is widely used in commercial baking as an additive to retard bacteria and mould.  As far as we know, it is non-toxic. The hamburger buns from the supermarket shelf also contain this addictive.

Personal comment:
I believe that all F&B outlets running in Singapore are required to follow strict rules and regulations. I have always trust that every food and drink that have a presence in Singapore will be safe for intake. I have seen some comments about Macdonald's burger not being decompose for years, which sounds unbelievable to me. People recently started to say that they would not eat Macdonald's anymore, having known that it needs a long time for its food to be digested in the stomach. Although i'm not quite convinced to the point that would stop myself from eating Macdonald's, but it is still not wise to eat it often. Especially kids, being a fan of fast-foods. As their bodies and immune system are still not fully well-developed at a young age, they should not be taking in so much of fast-foods. They contain large amount of preservatives, although not harmful, but still, it is definitely unhealthy. Kids should not start off their eating habits with too much of fast-foods. It is crucial that they have good eating habits since young so they can grow up healthily.

- Chua Rui Yi

Boys found alive after 50 days at sea

Samuel Perez and Filo Filo, both 15, and Edward Nasau, 14 went missing when they participated for a sport event in October. After several unsuccessful searches by New Zealand's air force, they were presumed dead. Thus, about 500 people on the island held a memorial service for them. After 50 days at sea, they were being rescued by a tuna ship, who saw their small aluminum boat floating in the middle of open waters. Which were 1,300 km away from where they went missing and were badly sunburnt. However, they just need a basic aid. They were survived with limited supply. They share a single raw seagull and drank a tiny bit of rain water. 

It was told that the tuna boat was fishing far from where it usually does.The boys were being checked at a hospital but were ecstatic to finally be able to speak by phone to their families.

In my opinion, I think the three guys are really lucky as they were rescued by the tuna boat who was fishing far from where it usually does. What if the tuna boat did not fish until their place? What if the tuna boat just fish from where it usually does? Call it a miracle, it was a rescue that might not have happened if not for chance. All of this happens because they are lucky enough. However, personally I think they are very strong as they can survive for 50 days in an open sea. Have you ever wondered, what if one day you're lost like what had happened to the three guys? In this case, I do not think I can survive for 50 days. Maybe with the ac companion of friends, they can actually support one another. No matter what, the best thing we can do is to take care of ourself. 

By: Norika Tjoe

600,000 die each year from passive smoking By Siyun

Summary:

According to a study, passive smoking has resulted in 600,000 deaths each year. The study concluded that the final death toll from tobacco was more than 5.7 million people, from poor and rich countries equally . About half of the victims were women, with the rest made up of children and men almost equally. Passive smoking has resulted in heart, lower respiratory infections, asthma and lung cancer. Children from poorer countries are the most affected victims from passive smoking.

My opinions

Some harmful effects of smoking are Heart Attacks, Strokes, Cancer, Emphysema (an illness that rots your lungs gradually), Stomach Ulcers, Amputation because of blocked arteries etc. Smoking when pregnant can increase the baby’s limb deformities 20-fold. It is harming one’s own child even before he or she is born.

Nevertheless, despite a lot of people knowing the harmful effects of smoking, they still smoke for various reasons such as “feeling good” as the increased blood flow of the brain caused an immediate rush of stimulation which can leave the smoker feeling alert and energized. Also, they find it easier to manage stress and some people even find that smoking helps them to manage their weight as it helps to increase metabolism.

However, they should really think about their family members, friends and others who are non-smokers, especially little children who are innocent and unaware of the harmful effects of passive smoking. Smokers are not only harming their health, but also others’ health indirectly. They might think that passive smoking isn’t a great deal but studies have shown that 600,000 people die from it each year. Smoking also pollute the air that everyone breathes in and accelerates global warming. Global warming causes natural disasters, such as drought, which cause more death. Although Singapore did not experience any major disasters, we had experienced flooding in orchard area, and we have rapid temperature changes.

Hence, people have to avoid passive smoking as much as possible and smokers should be encouraged to quit for the sake of their health and others’ health as well. Furthermore, public places such as amusement park, restaurants or coffee shops should be encouraged to provide no smoking areas or restrict smoking entirely to help encourage smokers should quit and to protect non-smokers, especially elderly and children from inhaling the harmful polluted air.

From this article:

600,000 die each year from passive smoking: study

AFP - Friday, November 26

PARIS (AFP) - – Second-hand tobacco smoke kills upward of 600,000 people every year, nearly a third of them children, according to a first-ever global assessment released Friday.

Unlike "lifestyle" diseases, which stem largely from individual choice, the victims of passive smoking pay the ultimate price for the health-wrecking behaviour of others, especially family members.

Among non-smokers worldwide, 40 percent of children, 35 percent of women and 33 percent of men were exposed to second-hand smoke in 2004, the most recent year for which data was available across the 192 countries examined.

When added to the 5.1 million fatalities attributable to active smoking, the final death toll from tobacco for 2004 was more than 5.7 million people, the study concluded.

Nearly half the passive-smoking deaths occurred in women, with the rest divided almost equally between children and men, said the study, published in the British medical journal The Lancet.

Some 60 percent were caused by heart disease and 30 percent by lower respiratory infections, followed by asthma and lung cancer.

All told, passive smoking accounted for fully one percent of worldwide mortality in 2004.

Adult deaths caused by second-hand tobacco were spread evenly across the spectrum of poor-to-rich nations.

But for children, poverty made things much worse, the study found.

The adult-to-child ratio of fatalities in high-income Europe, for example, was 35,388 to 71.

The ratio in Africa was nearly reversed: 9,514 to 43,375.

Done By: Lee Si Yun

North Korea shells South Korea

North Korea launched an attack on South Korea's territory yesterday.

Pyongyang fired scores of artillery shells on the border island of Yeonpyeong, killing two South Korean soldiers.

The provocative action has drawn swift condemnation from leaders worldwide, including US President Barack Obama.


By: Quan hua

300 vehicles to deliver hampers in Boys Brigade charity drive

About 300 vehicles will be making deliveries to 1,200 families in the Boys Brigade Share—a—Gift (BBSG) Charity Drive, the largest number in three years to participate in the annual event.The vehicles will deliver food hampers and gifts on the first two Saturdays of next month, December 4 and 12.
About 28,500 people will benefit from the charity drive and the Boys Brigade is expecting an increase in public participation.
Kicking off the charity drive on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng also donated household essentials.
"What is particularly meaningful is how the project brings together the community to go beyond just donating cash. Donors are encouraged to buy, wrap and deliver the gifts to the beneficiaries. So the little actions show the thought and the consideration that they have put in caring for their fellow members of the community," said Mr Wong.
Mr Lui Chong Chee, the Chairman of the BBSG 2010 organising committee, feels that the charity drive is a good medium for people who want to give back to society.
"When the people deliver the food and deliver the gifts to the beneficiaries, they themselves feel very good about it in their hearts as well. So over the years, this word of mouth has spread that this is an activity that is actually very good...people feel that they need to give back to society, and this project actually gives them a medium to do that."
Members of the public can drop off their donations of food and household items from Thursday at the Main Gift Box at Orchard Road and various NTUC Fairprice outlets.

 By: Quan hua

Fishing for bodies on China's Yellow River

Mr Wei, 55, does not look for fish in these waters. Instead, he pulls human bodies out the river, which he then sells back to grieving families. "I bring dignity to the dead," says Mr Wei. Mr Wei rows out to a temporary footbridge on the river everyday. He charges relatives up to $500 if they want to take the body home. Mr Wei has started this business seven years ago. So far he has collected about 500 bodies. Some of them have been murdered, while others have drowned or committed suicide. 

After he collects the bodies he puts them in a small cove where they are sheltered from the currents. He then places advertisements in local newspapers describing the bodies. Some people will travel to his place and some will call him if they recognized the bodies. Sometimes he fishes corpses out of the river and gives them a proper burial. 

Mr Wei said it was not just about the money. "My own child died in this river and I could not find the body," he says. "It was very painful. That's why I started doing this job." 

It's very ironic to help other people searching for dead bodies but Mr Wei himself could not find his own child's body. To me, this kind of job is very scary as not everyone is brave enough to look for dead body. However, Mr Wei could collect up to 500 bodies. That is beyond my imagination! For him who is less educated, has not many choice, especially in China, the unemployment rate is very high. At least Mr Wei is willing to work even though his job is collecting dead bodies. For people like us, who stay in first world country, are so blessed that we have many chances to look for a better job. So, we should be thankful and appreciating the lifestyle that we are having right now. We have to learn to understand people who are less fortunate and respect their life.

By: Norika Tjoe

MHA to study more police powers to curb youth gangs by Si Yun

24 November 2010

Summary:

With more teenagers causing trouble nowadays and claiming that that they are from gangs, it is no wonder that the police are placing more emphasis on security for Singaporeans and to capture young people suspected of being in a gang, for instance, by issuing directive to suspected youths to make sure they don’t stay outside longer than the curfew hours, or providing them with intervention programmes. Minister for Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), said that a study is still being conducted to determine whether more police are required to control this situation.

Since the end of last month, police has arrested 93 people who are suspected of being in gangs and about 200 suspects who are thought to be related to secret societies are in detention. 

Mr Shanmugam stated that the crime rates are actually declining over the past 5 years and rioting, which can be roughly used as a proxy indicator of gang violence, has reduced to 283 cases last year from 489 cases in 2005 and that 45% of the riots included young people.

He also indicated that these young people from gangs today have usually dropped out from school, not skilled, loosely organised and used the names of old secret societies for recognition and credibility and they do not have any aim when rioting as they fight over little matters such as body contact and staring incidents.

When the MPs asked whether MHA would consider keeping Neighbourhood Police Posts operating for 24 hours a day, Mr Shanmugam said that studies have shown that putting police officers in patrol cars was a preferred option as it is a more optimal use of resources.

My opinions:

Personally I think that the security of Singaporeans is very important now as young people who claimed that they are from gangs are now using violence even in the broad daylight, in a country like Singapore, who is proud of being a safe country for people to work and live and a place which is ideal for business entrepreneurs to start their business.

I am sure that the people who are living in the neighbourhood of Bukit Panjang are extremely worried about their safety and also lesser people would want to travel to Downtown east, just in case they meet any of this young people who are insecure about themselves and needed to conduct nonsensical violence in order to gain attention.

These young people are self-centered. In order to get the attention they want and retaliate to other people in their own violent ways, they do not about the consequences of their actions like causing hurt to the victims loved-ones. I think that the police force should do whatever they can to protect the people living in Singapore, whether it’s patrolling cars at night or open police centres for 24 hours a day, in order to control the situation.

Actually, parents also played a part in this. Parents in Singapore are working as long as before. If they could just spend more time with their children, give them more care and attention, and impart good values and principles to them, maybe these young people would not be so insecure about themselves and there would be less innocent victims.


From this article:

MHA to study more police powers to curb youth gangs

Recent gang attacks Click on thumbnail to view By Rachel Chan THE Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will study whether more police powers are needed to disrupt the formation of loose gangs among young people, Minister for Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam said yesterday. Examples of such powers include issuing directives to at risk youth to abide by curfew hours, and issuing directives to such young people to attend intervention programmes. Since the end of last month, police have arrested 93 suspected gang members, said Mr Shanmugam. Currently, just under 200 suspects with links to secret societies have been placed under detention. But he stressed that the two recent cases of gang violence do not indicate an increase in gang activity. He said: "When we assess the current situation, we need to assess with the right perspective and on the basis of all the facts. » Tracing the origins of Singapore gangs » A history of gang violence » Another 70 arrested for gang activity "These two recent cases do not suggest that our crime situation is worsening or that our policing efforts are not adequate." Mr Shanmugam also cited declining crime rates over the past five years. Rioting, which can be broadly used as a proxy indicator of gang violence, has fallen to 283 cases last year from 489 cases in 2005, he said. For the first nine months of this year, there were 214 rioting cases, of which 69 have links to secret societies. Young people were involved in 45 per cent of the riots. Mr Shanmugam pointed out that traditional secret societies have been effectively suppressed by police-enforcement efforts, and added that gangs today are "loosely organised street gangs with fluid membership". He listed the characteristics of such gangs: They are not linked to traditional secret societies, but adopt their names for recognition and credibility; they operate with no specific aims and fight over trivial matters such as staring incidents. Young people who join such gangs are usually unskilled, school dropouts, or students who are not academically inclined. Among such youth, the number of those with secret society links has decreased to 80 last year, from 138 in 2005. Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Sylvia Lim asked if the merging of the Secret Societies Branch with a larger department two years ago affected the police's focus on the gang issue. Mr Shanmugam replied that there is "no loss of focus on this issue" and on "crime as a whole", as well as on how youth gangs and gangs that do not comprise young people are dealt with. Preventive and rehabilitative measures are already in place to tackle youth delinquency, he said. There have been encouraging results, with less than 10 per cent of the participants in the Streetwise Programme re-offending within a year. In response to questions from MPs regarding whether MHA would consider keeping Neighbourhood Police Posts open for 24 hours a day, Mr Shanmugam said studies have shown that putting police officers in fast patrol cars was a better option as it is a more optimal use of resources.

Done by: Lee Si Yun

It turned out to be a tragedy.

People finding for their family members' photos.


The aftermath, seen the next morning.



At least 345 deaths were reported which happened in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Pneh, during a significant event of the year called, Water Festival. Hundreds more were injured. They were attending a concert on Diamond Island bridge. It was estimated that the bridge would welcome more than 2 million attendance for the three-day festival. The bridge has only the width that consists of 2 lanes of road which was closed to allow people to attend the Water Festival celebration. Panic broke out after a concert on Diamond Island, which followed a boat race on the Tonle Sap river regarded as a highlight of the festivities.Witnesses said that there were too many people on the bridge, the two ends were pushing as well. The sudden panic and pushing caused the people in the middle to fall to the ground and get crushed.
"Panic started and at least 50 people jumped in the river. People tried to climb on to the bridge, grabbing and pulling [electric] cables which came loose and electrical shock caused more deaths." said an eyewitness.

Personal comments:
In my opinion, i believe that what is really needed from the victims from Cambodia, no matter is it the deceased, the injured ones, or the remained ones, they all need strong support now. It can be of any form of help, financial, food/drinks, and especially healthcare. More than 700 of the injured ones are taken to Calmette hospital. There are so many people who need medical help that some patients have no choice but to lay on the floor because there is inadequate available beds. Many who were brought there were dead as well. They are in need of space, overcrowding might cause easy outbreak of diseases as well. There should be, if possible, a conducive and spacious environment for the injured ones to recuperate and/or receive treatments. This would be possible if more hospitals can be used to accomodate the victims and help can be received to move them. There could have been more policemen to be in control of the situation and event, and limit the amount of people being on the bridge at any one time.
Also, help shouldnt be only rendered for this critical period of time. The people should continue to receive support for a longer period of time. It can be either counselling, or medicines for the injured ones, etc. This is a huge hit to many people of Cambodia, not just a physical hit to many, but an emotional one for most of them.

-Chua Rui Yi, 24 November 2010

Woman in rabbit-killing video apologizes , article By Siyun

Nov 23, 2010

Summary:

A video of woman from China killing a rabbit has been widely circulated in the internet. You can find it from www.facebook.com.

It was said that the woman was seen playing with the rabbit during the start of the video, kissing and stroking it. After that, she threw the rabbit onto the table and proceeded to place a thick piece of glass on top of it (as seen from the third picture above, from the second row), and sat on it.

The rabbit was crushed to death.

This woman has issued an apology online and according to online reports, she was from the organisation “crushfetish” and this tactic of crushing animals is common for them. However, she was not punished as currently in China, they do not have laws to punish those people who abuse animals or cause sufferings to them.

Also, the woman earns money from these kind of acts as their videos are sold in several countries for people who have these kind of fetishes.

A group of people are actually very calm about this, as they explained that this is just an extension of sado-masochism and that people should not be shocked or too upset about it they also stated that people who pitied the animals are awkward around others, therefore these animals were their sole concern in life.

My opinions:

I think that it is very cruel to take an animal’s life in uch a way.

I find the dead animals pitiful as they are being tortured to death although I had not even watched the video as the pictures and the thought of a rabbit being crushed to death are already scary enough for me.

Hence, I strongly disagree with the people who claimed that this kind of animal abuse is just an extension of sado-masochism and that people should not be shocked or too upset. The people who have this kind of thinking must be having some problems with themselves.

Also, I wonder how they would feel if they are the rabbits, being tortured to death under this kind of circumstance. A rabbit is a living thing too! The woman was not even punished for what she had done because in China, they are no such laws to punish people for animal abuse.

Currently in Singapore, there are laws which raised maximum fines and jail terms for offences related to animal-cruelty with to $10000 and 12 months respectively.

It was later reported that this woman earned about $60 SGD from this video, obviously she thinks that it is worth the money. This woman must have earned a lot of disrespect from the people around her and she deserves it. I wonder how her family and friends would think of her.




From this article:

Woman in rabbit-killing video apologizes

Woman squashes bunny to death Click on thumbnail to view For more photos, click here. A woman filmed killing a rabbit by sitting on it has issued an apology online. The woman's apology has been met with criticism from netizens who believe it is a lie. According to online reports, an insider from "crushfetish" - the organisation the woman belongs to - said this is often a tactic employed by such fetish groups.  Women who have appeared in previous animal abuse videos which gained much internet coverage also apologized in an attempt to shift public opinion and human flesh searches away from the group. Chinese netizens in particular call for legal action to be taken against such group and crush-videos, despite such apologies saying that at present China does not have any relevant laws to punish those who abuse and torture animals. In the widely-circulated video, the woman picks up a small white rabbit and proceeds to kiss and stroke it before throwing it onto a table. She then places a thick piece of glass on top of the rabbit and sits on it crushing it to death. Profiteering from videos of animal crushing A widely-circulated Internet video has netizens up in arms over the abuse and killing of small animals like rabbits. While many would believe that this is a single accident, it turns out that there is an entire syndicate dedicated to producing and selling such “crush” videos, which are then exported overseas. A group of netizens who subscribe to such fetishes say these practices were merely an extension of sado-masochism and that there is no need for netizens to be upset. They also say people who pitied the animals tended to be awkward around others, hence these animals were their sole concern in life. Message logs between members cursed the families of those who protested against the crush videos.

Done by: Lee Si Yun

Gang members were victims too by Siyun

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 Summary:

There are a few reasons for joining gangs.The teenagers who chose this path only come from lower-income or broken families, some wealthy people might also choose the gang’s path in order to be rebellious as their parents are too protective of them.

The public and government are placing more emphasis on gangs and the youth nowadays because of the increasing number slashing incidents that occurred in Singapore recently.

Social workers have revealed that some of the gang members were actually victims of bullying in the past, and they joined gang as they do not want to be bullied anymore.

My opinions:

Nowdays, many teenagers who claimed that they are from gangs are creating trouble in broad daylight, such as the slashing case in Bukit Panjang or Ang Mo Kio. We have been placing blame on them and viewing them negatively, but who has actually wonder about the reasons of themm joining gangs?



The number of parents working in Singapore is increasing more than ever nowadays, as they place a lot of importance on their career. They children are left to be taken care by maids, grandparents or other adults. We cannot really expect them to tell their problems to their maids, or grandparents who might not understand what they are trying to say. Parents should spend more time with their children, and take the initiative in showing more concern towards their daily life happenings so that they could give them good advice or offer help if they know that their child is being bullied or having other problems. If the parents impart good values to their children at a young age, the child would not seek unhealthy solutions, such as joining gangs to solve their problems.


Teenagers with gang problems should also seek help from adults or teachers and as friends, we should talk to our friends whose behaviours are violent or abnormal and try to help them.

Violence and causing hurt to innocent victims could have been avoided with such small steps.

From this article:

Gang members were victims too

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 RazorTV

By Shawn Lee Miller It is a common perception that youth who join gangs come from broken homes or lower income families. However, a former gang leader who now mentors youth involved in gangs reveals another kind of youth who would join a gang. "Their families are well-off but these youth are curious about gangs. Their house is too protective and they want to rebel against their family and that's where they join gangs." said Alex Lim, Mentor at Architects of Life. With the spotlight these days on gangs and the youth who join them, RazorTV spoke to social workers who work with youth involved in gangs to find out just what would drive a teenager to join a gang. "Some of them were victims first and they decided they don't want to be a victim of bullying anymore. One fine day they decide that I want to bully, I don't want to be bullied." said Charlene Heng, a social worker at YouthReach. Check out RazorTV for more clips on gangs as we delve into topics ranging from gang fights to the profile of a gangster to the influence of the movie Young & Dangerous.

Done by : Lee Si Yun

Your Baby Can Save a Life!

Picture above is Christopher and his mom, Leidy Sanchez, who had just delivered the baby. Baby's umbilical cord can be stored and donate for those in need of a stem cell transplant for leukemia, sickle cell anemia or dozens of other diseases. 

Doctors encouraged Leidy Sanchez to donate her baby's umbilical cord. However, what if, heaven forbid, baby Christopher were to need to use those cells later in life? They might still be there for him, but then again they might have been given away to someone else. They understand that there could be someone out there who needs the cells right now.

By doing so, many, many lives could be saved. However 

if a child develops leukemia, there are usually leukemia cells in the cord blood, making them inappropriate for a transplant. Or if a child has a genetic disorder, such as sickle cell, that same problematic DNA lies in the cord blood cells, rendering them useless.

In my opinion, those who are able to donate their cells should donate as it could save a person's life. However, before that, they should do some check up to make sure that they are perfectly healthy. Even if one is still an infant, the doctor should check whether one parent is healthy or not. It is very important to save a life. Just imagine that we're the one who is struggling and need the cells. Of course you'll need helps from the others also right? These apply to everyone. We should not be selfish to one another. As a human being, we should be more generous and help one another. We have to think of others and try to help those who need us. One may probably need their own cell to do transplantation in the future. However, one can always hope to get a healthy life and wish that they do not encounter any diseases. 

By Norika Tjoe